WWE SummerSlam 2011: Primer for John Cena vs. CM Punk & Not Much Else

WWE SummerSlam 2011 emanates from Los Angeles, CA, as part of a recent tradition started in 2009 to make the classic pay-per-view franchise a mainstay of the city of angels. 

This means the WWE's pay-per-view business will be going from one riot city to another with last month's critically acclaimed Money in the Bank pay-per-view held in Chicago.

The pitbull-like anti-Cena contingent figures to be in half force, with California traditionally being just as much Cena country as it is hostile territory for the 11-time WWE Champion. 

With CM Punk and Cena both laying claim to WWE Championships, an ambiguous ending to RAW as to where Triple H's allegiance will lie as special guest referee during the main event, and Alberto Del Rio waiting in the wings with his Money in the Bank briefcase, wrestling fans are all left with the same question. 

What the heck happened to the rest of this card? 

Internally seen as a one match show, a vast majority of SummerSlam's projected card seems to have been given away on free television in recent weeks. Riley-Ziggler, Miz-Mysterio, Morrison-Truth, and Jackson-Rhodes were all programs that seemed to be building naturally to a SummerSlam payoff.

Yet, all have already happened and are not currently on the books for WWE's midsummer classic, leaving the pay-per-view with just five scheduled matches at last word. The peculiarly constricted lineup could mean anything to more filler, to impromptu matches, to longer form matches. 

But given how good of a job WWE has done building up Punk-Cena II, they hardly need to book too many matches on this show outside of the heavily anticipated rematch. 

Themes to watch for...

New John Cena T-Shirt and/or Ring Gear 

It has been over one quarter since John Cena's trademark bright colored, motivational t-shirts have received an upgrade, and WWE made the last two switches at SummerSlam (purple) and WrestleMania (red).  

With a split crowd sure to be in attendance, nothing will scream 'team Cena' like an expensive new t-shirt. I say Cena returns to the Laker theme from last year and goes with a nice shade of butt-kissing yellow. 

Cena has been taking suggestions on Twitter for new and/or altered ring gear. Believe it or not, I think there is a distinct possibility that he ditches his heavily mocked jorts and goes with khakis or cargo shorts. 

Longer matches  

 I expect WWE to go with longer matches instead of booking impromptu contests as Cee-Lo is scheduled to perform, and his set will probably be the length of a pair of matches. 

The performance actually may serve as a welcomed break from what looks to be an otherwise wrestling heavy show. 

The Miz 

Despite his mild championship run coming to an end earlier this year, the Miz has taken on even more media assignments as part of what I've branded the Miz's "Don't forget about Miz" tour of 2011. 

CM Punk is the flavor of the month in the WWE at the moment, and Miz is showing his dedication to the brand by making every  mainstream media appearance possible. 

This way, when CM Punk cools off and WWE needs some opposition for Cena, Miz's brownie points will crush everyone else's. 

Gail Kim could learn from this. 

Miz has promised to "steal the show" despite not being booked on the card, which could mean one of an assortment of things for WWE's Mainstream Media Champion. 

RAWful Announcing  

 The argumentative RAW announce team got better last week, mainly because Jim Ross refused to bite at most Michael Cole's taunting attempts, yet Cole saves his most obnoxious stuff for the pay-per-views. 

I will be there live, so I won't get a chance to hear the petty back-and-forth, thank God, but don't be surprised if the three-man booth reverts back to their familiar ways of match-killing banter. 

I would appreciate if those of you ordering the pay-per-view would let me know on Twitter how the commentary is turning out.  

SummerSlam Predictions:

Daniel Bryan over Wade Barrett

 If WWE is serious about Daniel Bryan waiting until WrestleMania 28 to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase, they've got to make him look strong over the next several months. 

Granted, they have time, and a loss to Wade Barrett in August wouldn't hurt Bryan's long-term viability as a world championship contender. 

But strong booking for Bryan will only help in garnering interest in a WrestleMania showdown between him and whoever happens to be the World Champion by April 1st.    

Sheamus over Mark Henry 

WWE wants young children to think that if they get too close to Mark Henry, he will devour them. His "World's Most Dangerous Man" booking has been effective in that it has created a strong heel of substance on SmackDown. 

The outcome of this match will be heavily tied to the outcome of Christian-Orton, with the winner of the World Championship match likely to decide the winner of Sheamus-Henry based on whether or not they are a face or a heel. 

I think Christian escapes SummerSlam with a victory, so I've got Sheamus beating Mark Henry so that he gets the next title shot. That is, of course, if WWE ultimately decides against booking Orton-Christian V.

Diva's Championship Match: Beth Phoenix over Kelly Kelly

 The Divas of Destruction (DOD) have arrived in the WWE on the strength of a welcomed CM Punk contract perk. In a recent interview with GQ Magazine, while still in negotiations with WWE, Punk pegged Natalya and Beth Phoenix as two WWE Divas who needed to be given more TV time. 

Since surprisingly re-signing with the company, both Phoenix and Natalya have accordingly been booked strongly as the anti-barbie, G.I. Joe characters with the mission of cleansing the Divas division of its more feminine stars. 

Beth Phoenix should defeat Kelly Kelly with Natalya hopefully playing an increasingly disgruntled sidekick (or future Divas Champion with Beth playing the unenviable second fiddle role) all the way to WrestleMania, where WWE pays off the DOD storyline with yet another dream match of Phoenix-Natalya.   

World Championship Match: Christian (c) over Randy Orton

Christian hasn't had enough time to develop as World Champion on SmackDown, and after he teased a SummerSlam surprise, I fully expect the surprise to lead to the demise of Randy Orton in this match. 

What that surprise is I'm not sure, and I'd love to hear your suggestions in the comment section, but a no disqualification match with a surprise looming probably means outside interference of some sort will cost Orton the title. 

WWE Championship Unification Match: CM Punk (c) over John Cena (c)

 CM Punk's momentum will be prematurely killed a la the Nexus of last year, if Cena is to beat him clean in this match. The inclusion of Triple H adds an interesting aspect to this hot rematch, but I don't see Triple H getting involved until after the match. 

Which reminds me...

WWE Championship Match: Alberto Del Rio Defeats CM Punk

 I said it in on B/R video, and I'm sticking with my prediction of Alberto Del Rio cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase at SummerSlam. 

Del Rio has no program on RAW right now, and with Rey Mysterio, Jr. awaiting the WWE Champion in his hometown of San Diego the next night on RAW, it would make sense for his bitter rival Del Rio to be booked as champion in that position so that San Diego can be fully behind Mysterio. 

That is unless WWE wants to play the hostile environment card with Cena again. 

WWE has their eye on an upcoming tour of Mexico to do big business, and Del Rio as champion now would build towards a hot crowd for the conquering Mexican hero come October when RAW goes live in Mexico City. 

Projected Buyrate  

 While the CM Punk-Cena angle has not fared well on TV from a ratings standpoint, the otherwise outstanding build has apparently lead to success at the box office, as Vince McMahon recently claimed that the buyrate for Money in the Bank was "up 20 percent" compared to last year. 

I expect SummerSlam 2011 to improve on its disappointing figure of 350,000 buys from last year. 385,000 Buys.

For news and rumors leading into SummerSlam, watch Big Nasty on the B/R Video page, and follow him on Twitter @ThisIsNasty.